Julie Powell

Voter suppression is not new. Throughout this country’s history some have tried to keep the power of the vote in the hands of a select few. Every time the electorate has been expanded to include more citizens, it has taken an amendment to the United States Constitution to accomplish it. And every time that has happened, there have been efforts to keep those enfranchised from exercising that Constitutional right.

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For women, for African Americans and other minorities, for young people, gaining that right was not easy and many paid the ultimate price.

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In One (Wo)Man, One Vote, Julie Powell has told the story of what it took for those groups to be able to vote and has chronicled the historical effort to limit and suppress their voices that continues today.

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Powell’s narrative shows that safeguarding the right of every citizen to cast a ballot is an ongoing struggle, but one that must continue in order to protect our democracy and progress toward a government that is truly representative of all its citizens.